Social Networking software @ libraries

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It’s unfortunate that congress passed “The Deleting Online Predators Act (DOPA)” (don’t you love the names of these bills?). Unfortunate because it does not allow children to access websites that utilize social networking web technology. Yes these sites include websites like My Space. BUT other very useful websites utilize this technology, as well. Amazon.com is one of them. So we are not going to let children in public libraries and schools visit Amazon? I have to agree with the author of this article:

If anything, schools and libraries should be encouraging kids to use blogging and social networking services. They have enormous educational potential for such things as writing, interviewing, collaborative research, media literacy, and photography, but even if not used as part of a formal supervised education program, they encourage kids to communicate and reach out to others.